Cossacks on march to Paris visit ataman Platov’s memorable places

The French troops were surrounded in the strategic circle in Moscow by the efforts of Field Marshall Kutuzov 200 years ago on September 21, 1812

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Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

ERFURT (Germany), September 22 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian Cossacks, who are participating in the Moscow-Paris Cavalry March, visited the memorable places in Germany related with a legendary Russian Cossack Ataman Platov, a hero of the Patriotic War in 1812.

Several memorable places in Germany are related with Ataman Matvey Platov rather than Russian Cossacks in general. This is primarily the city Leipzig, in the battle for which the Cossacks actually saved from captivity the allied command. This is Weimar, which the Cossacks saved from a possible destruction in the flames of the battle in 1813, putting up the defensive force that the French troops did not dare to attack. This is also the city Erfurt, which Ataman Platov visited in 1808 at a meeting between Russian and French emperors, who agreed on cooperation between the two empires.

The house, where Matvey Platov lived during this congress, was conserved perfectly. “The only thing that lacked in the house is a plaque, which would immortalize the stay of our legendary ataman at this place,” ataman of the Cossack march in 2012 Alexander Kalyakin said. “Upon return home we will put forward an initiative so that a relevant decision would be negotiated with Germany. The city, which values the history so highly, as we made sure of this today, I believe, will not refuse to have such a memorable plaque for its perfect image,” he said.

Kalyakin substantiated this conviction by the fact that the Russian Cossacks were hailed in Erfurt. The school students and pensioners, tourists and local residents, businesspeople and young people came up to the Cossacks, asked the questions to the latter and welcomed them. An Itar-Tass correspondent witnessed as a young man and a young woman interrupting their kiss to wave the hands as a welcoming sign to the Cossacks, who were wearing the uniform of the Patriotic War in 1812.

Hardly these young people in concrete, but the historical consciousness of the city in general remembers, according to informed local resident and journalist Yelena Yeremenko, how in particular the Russian Cossacks defended the houses of German ordinary people, putting the icons of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the windows of their houses. So, they put it clearly to the Napoleon soldiers that this house is under defence and the French troops did not want to put to test the Russian defence in 1813.

The French troops were surrounded in the strategic circle in Moscow by the efforts of Field Marshall Kutuzov 200 years ago on September 21, 1812. The enemy was cut from the roads to southern Russian regions abundant with food supplies, and Russian mobile formations, which the Cossacks used to form, were ready to intercept the enemy forces.

On that day the enemy did not show any activity, therefore, no clashes with the Russian Cossacks were mentioned in the combat reports on this day.